WBHS journalists score 12 awards in statewide contest
For the second year in a row, The West Bend Current received top recognition from the Northeastern Wisconsin Scholastic Press Association.
Judges for the 2016 NEWSPA contest again gave blue ribbon honors to The Current for a website not published as part of a journalism class, saying that many of the stories “reflect an original, enterprising approach to news gathering.”
The website’s student reporters also took home eleven individual awards.
Miranda Paikowski earned first place for her editorial cartoon about the November attacks in Paris. Editor in Chief Lauren Sorensen also earned first place for an editorial reflecting on how students who were children on Sept. 11, 2001 now have a responsibility to remember that day. Sorensen led all staff members with three prizes.
Full List of Awards
- The Current was given blue ribbon honors for a website not published through a journalism class.
- Lauren Sorensen earned first place for her editorial “The Children of 9/11 Are Not Children Anymore.”
- Sorensen also took second place for In-Depth Reporting for her series about standardized testing and third place for her editorial “State Law Should Guarantee Freedoms for Student Journalists.”
- Miranda Paikowski won first place for her editorial cartoon “We Are With You.”
- Maggie Kieser was awarded second place in the General News Story category for “Too Many Turnovers.”
- Kieser also took place third place in the Sports News Writing category for “That Doesn’t Look Good.”
- Beth Williams was given second place in the Personality Profile category for her feature “Veterans Day: Meet John Zink.”
- Hannah Bensen earned third place in the General News category for “It’s All Coming Together.”
- Bensen also won third place in the Academic News category for “The Physics Egg Drop Is Toast.”
- Alyssa Birkeland was awarded third place for In-Depth Reporting for “Not an Easy Path.”
- Allison Trampe took third place in the News-Based Feature category for “Practice Goes Into Overtime.”
The Current competed in the large school division of the NEWSPA contest. The student news site is advised by Eric Beltmann.
(Photograph by Kim Barrett, East English teacher.)
The West Bend Current 
Congrats! Well Deserved! I look forward to each issue.
Congratulations to everyone for all of your hard work. Great leadership by your Editor in Chief & Faculty Adviser, too! Keep up the good work!
Awesome! I like hearing issues from the students’ point of view. Congratulations to the whole staff and advisor.
This is amazing! We are all so proud of you young writers and your advisor. And here I was all this time thinking that we just kept Beltmann around to make the English department look pretty. Seriously though, salutations to you all.